Visa & Immigration

About the Survey

These studies examine scientists’ experiences during COVID-19 and visa-related travel restrictions in 2020. Scientists provided input on how current U.S. visa and immigration policy impacts international research, security, and trust. Responses on this page are part of a larger survey on visa and immigration impacts on higher education with additional topics covering mobility, policy impacts, and impacts on the scientific workforce.

Survey Sections

Survey Section 01

Work Experiences and Mobility

Section Overview This study examines scientists’ work experiences during COVID-19 and visa-related travel restrictions in 2020. Responses on this page are part of a larger survey on visa and immigration impacts on higher education with additional topics covering policy impacts and impacts on scientific workforce. Question In the past 12 months, have you experienced any […]

Survey Section 02

Policy Impacts and Aims

Section Overview Scientists provided input on the ways current US visa and immigration policy impacts international research, security, and trust. Responses on this page are part of a larger survey on visa and immigration impacts on higher education with additional topics covering mobility and impacts on scientific workforce. Question In your opinion, what effect do […]

Survey Section 03

Impacts on Scientific Workforce

Section Overview This study explores impacts on the emerging scientific workforce, particularly international students and postdocs, due to changes and delays to the US visa and immigration process over the past year. Responses on this page are part of a larger survey on visa and immigration impacts on higher education with additional topics covering mobility […]

Survey Description

This national survey of biologists, engineers, and geographers on 2020 visa and immigration policy impacts was conducted by the Center for Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Studies at Arizona State University. The population for the survey represents a random sample of academic scientists (tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track) who work in three departments (biology, civil and environmental engineering, and geography). These scientists work at 60 randomly selected universities classified as Carnegie designated research extensive (R1) universities in the United States. A total of 2,443 individuals were invited to participate in the survey via email invitations with a series of personalized email follow-up reminders. Survey invitations with a unique ID, passwords, and hyperlink to the survey were sent on October 22 and 23, followed by three reminder messages. The survey was closed on November 23rd. 

A total of 419 usable responses were collected, representing an AAPOR response rate (RR4) of 17.4%. The survey sample was weighted by gender and academic field. The measure of sampling error for questions answered by the full sample is plus or minus 5 percentage points. The survey was developed by the team during September-October 2020.  The questionnaire included sections asking about the impacts of current US visa and immigration policies on scientific research and collaboration, the higher education system, and different policy objectives over the past 12 months. The instrument was electronically programmed (in English) using the Sawtooth Software ® system. The survey was approved by Institutional Review Boards at Arizona State University and at the University of Illinois at Chicago.